The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

These Regulations amend various sets of social security regulations.

Regulation 2 amends the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, the State Pension Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (“the Housing Benefit Regulations”), the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 and the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008. These amendments amend the definition of ‘service user’ in those Regulations. Who is a “service user” is relevant to the calculation of income in those benefits, so that, for example, expenses paid to individuals consulted by or on behalf of a body with a statutory duty to perform functions in the field of social security (either in their capacity as a person affected or potentially affected by the exercise of those functions or as a carer of a person so affected or potentially affected) may be disregarded when calculating income and therefore, the notional income rule in those benefits will not apply. Expenses paid to a carer of such an individual (i.e. a carer of a service user) are disregarded by sub-paragraph (b) of the paragraphs being amended.

Regulation 3 revokes regulation 2(5) and (6) of the Social Security (Maternity Allowance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987. These provide respectively that a woman shall be disqualified from receiving maternity allowance if, during the maternity allowance period, she fails without good cause to take due care of her health or to answer reasonable enquiries by the Department or its officers, directed at whether she is doing so and how the period of such disqualification is determined.

Regulation 4 amends the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000. It omits an unnecessary definition in regulation 1(2). It also corrects an incorrect cross-reference in regulation 2(4). Finally, it ensures that regulation 3(1)(a) reflects the existing policy intention that there is no entitlement to a winter fuel payment in respect of residents of a residential care home who are in receipt of certain income-related benefits during the qualifying week.

Regulation 5 amends the Social Security (Crediting and Treatment of Contributions, and National Insurance Numbers) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 so as to provide that where the Department or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are notified that a person is to be issued with a biometric residence permit by the Home Office, that person is exempted from the requirement to apply to the Department or HMRC for a National Insurance number.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 56(4) of the Housing Benefit Regulations to provide that parents’ learning allowance paid under Article 44(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 is disregarded when calculating entitlement to Housing Benefit. This change aligns the position in these Regulations with that applying in relation to the other income-related benefits.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulation 6, to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee, they have not been so referred by virtue of section 150(1)(b) of that Act. Otherwise they make in relation to Northern Ireland only provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, that Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.